# pelican

Pronunciation: say "PEL-i-kuhn" /ˈpɛl.ɪ.kən/

## Noun

1. A large seabird of the family Pelecanidae, with a long bill and an expandable throat pouch used to catch fish.
   - Simple: A large water bird with a long beak and a stretchy pouch under it for scooping up fish.
   - _A pelican glided low over the waves before plunging for its meal._
   - _The brown pelican tucks its wings and dives steeply to catch fish._
2. A person born in or living in the American state of Louisiana.
   - Simple: Someone who was born in or lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
   - _Every pelican in the room stood when the Louisiana anthem played._
   - _The senator called herself a lifelong pelican from Baton Rouge._
3. A type of dental forceps used to force overcrowded teeth apart.
   - Simple: A dental tool with curved arms used to push crowded teeth apart.
   - _The surgeon used the pelican to ease the impacted tooth aside._
   - _Each pelican in the antique kit had a sharp, curved arm of steel._
4. An aircraft used to fight wildfires by scooping up and dropping large loads of water. *(slang, Canada)*
   - Simple: A plane that scoops up water and drops it on wildfires.
   - _The crew called in a pelican when the flames reached the tree line._
   - _A pelican dumped thousands of gallons on the advancing fire._
5. A derogatory slang word for a prostitute who has grown old. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A rude slang word for an older woman who works as a prostitute.
   - _The constable knew every pelican who plied the dockside alleys after dark._
   - _She feared ending her days as a pelican, ignored on the cold street corners._

## Noun

6. A type of still or retort fitted with curved tubes that lead vapor from the head back to the body, allowing continuous condensation and repeated distillation. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old glass still with curved tubes that carried vapor back down so the liquid could boil again and again.
   - _The alchemist sealed the wine in a pelican and let it circulate over a gentle flame._
   - _Vapor rose through the pelican and trickled back down its curved arms into the body._

## Origin

It comes from Middle English pellican and Old English pellican, from Latin pelecānus, which came from Ancient Greek πελεκάν (pelekán), related to πέλεκυς (pélekus, "hatchet").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pelican (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).